Can a New Stadium Revive
Pittsburgh's Ailing Team?

By

Stefan Fatsis Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Updated April 11, 2001 12:01 a.m. ET

PITTSBURGH -- A baseball stadium opened on the banks of the Allegheny River here this week, and it's a beauty: a cozy, architecturally sublime, limestone ballpark with a downtown view that feels like a 3-D movie.

But the Pittsburgh Pirates need their new home to be more than pretty. PNC Park is a key to reviving a franchise that hasn't had a winning record since 1992. Pirates executives project the stadium will boost annual revenue by two-thirds this season to just above $100 million. By the conventional wisdom of pro...